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State warns about tax telephone scam

Martha Coakley

Attorney General Martha Coakley is alerting all consumers to be wary of a nationwide scam that is aggressively targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the Commonwealth and the country. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

The state attorney's general's office says it has received several complaints about the scam.

The scammer usually claims to be from the Internal Revenue Service or another government agency, and tells the target they will be arrested because they did not pay or did not correctly file state or federal taxes.

Victims are told they must settle the debt over the phone by providing a debit or credit card number or by wiring funds, to avoid arrest. If the victim refuses, the caller becomes hostile and abusive and threatens the victim with arrest or deportation.

"These scams prey on well-meaning taxpayers that are trying to do the right thing," Attorney General Martha Coakley said. "They are often aggressive and may involve information about an individual and their family to make the scenario sound authentic. Consumers should not be afraid to ask questions, say no, and simply hang up the phone if they believe the caller is attempting to perpetrate a scam."

The following text transcript released by Coakley's office detailing a voice message received by a consumer in Massachusetts:

"Hi this is Don calling you from the crime investigation unit of the IRS, Internal Revenue Services. The reason of this call is to inform you that the IRS has issued a
warrant against you and your physical property is being monitored right now. So it is very important that we hear a call back from you today. My call back number is (206) 436-4856.
I repeat the number is (206) 436-4856. Thank you and goodbye."

The Better Business Bureau says thousands of calls have been made across the country with total losses around $1 million.

Anyone targeted by the scam has the following options:

Call the IRS at (800) 829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue – if there really is such an issue.

The IRS also recommends that you report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at (800) 366-4484.

If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their FTC Complaint Assistant at FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.

For more information, go to www.irs.gov and type "scam" in the search box.